Grillstock - Bristol food review

Posted on: 2017-05-19

Our rating:

The BBQ joint on the Clifton Triangle impresses based on both its quality and quantity.


Grillstock Clifton

Grillstock have stayed true to their ethos of simplicity and honesty ever since the saloon door to the BBQ smokehouse on the Clifton Triangle swung open back in 2013. ‘Slow smoked barbecue; cooked with wood, fire and patience; enjoyed with music and beer’ runs their slogan, a line which the restaurant has continued to live by, even since the birth of five other restaurants across the country and the proliferation of their summer festival.

Grillstock beer

Posters for Grillstock Festival, now in its eighth consecutive year, plaster the walls of their founding restaurant, with the names they proudly boast a testament to just how the brand has come: The Pharcyde, Craig Charles, The Hot 8 Brass Band and, umm, The Darkness and Goldie Lookin’ Chain. Despite the grandeur that these musicians represent (and don’t), the interior of their flagship branch is indistinguishable from how it looked back in 2013 – with one long table, pointing from the door to the bar, bifurcating the room filled with classic rock and a warm communal hubbub. And, more crucially, the food is as good as it has always been.

 

To start, my friend and I opt for bowl of the Brisket Burnt Ends (£4.00), washed down by two bottles of their own Grillstock Pale Ale (£3.95 each), which is brewed locally by Bath Ales. A reasonably hoppy drop with a crisp, smooth initial flavour, the beer makes an ideal accompaniment for the golden cubes of brisket which, manager James explains, have been cut from the top layer of the meat. Once diced up, they are left to marinade in hot sauce, lending each piece both a pleasant level of heat and an exquisite tenderness.

Grillstock brisket

Having been thus far impressed by the produce of their smoker, it seems rude to go for anything other than the ‘Grand Champion’ (£40), a herculean amalgam of the four options on the ‘Bar-B-Q Meats’ menu – complete with a number of tantalising sides. Listed on the card as ‘pulled pork, sliced brisket, ½ chicken, full rack of babyback ribs & wings, plus mac ‘n’ cheese, chilli cheese fries, house pickles & slaw’, it is quite justifiably the subject of an eating challenge; whereby if a solo eater polishes off the whole shebang in less than 60 minutes, they will be showered by riches consisting of BBQ sauces, a ‘Grand Champion’ t shirt and eternal Grillstock glory.

 

Luckily, I have neither such time or numerical pressures inhibiting my dining experience on this visit, thus together my friend and I are able to make a decent stab at clearing the majority. It is all excellent, with the quality of the grub compelling us to carry on past the point at which our groaning stomachs would have ordinarily given up.

Grillstock Bristol

The brisket, though tempered with a less tender texture than the burnt ends, tastes great, as does the heaped mass of pulled pork it sits beside, all having been smoked low overnight. The rack of ribs, situated on the opposite side of the enormous tray, is succulent and full of flavour – though there could have been slightly more meat on the bones. The chicken suffers from no such shortcomings – the wings are bigger than any I have previously seen and marinaded to a wonderful heat. In the midst of all this is a mass of chips piled high with chilli and cheese, which nicely accompanies the bowl of mac ‘n’ cheese as welcome bit of complex carbohydrate – nutritional balance is important here at Grillstock.

 

As such, through adhering fastidiously to time-tried, unpretentious methods, Grillstock ensure that, though the quantity is immediately impressive, that the real take-away from their food is its quality.

 

Food 4

Value 4

Atmosphere 5

Service 5

 



Article by:

Sam Mason-Jones

An ardent Geordie minus the accent, Sam seemingly strove to get as far away from the Toon as possible, as soon as university beckoned. Three undergraduate years at UoB were more than ample time for Bristol (as it inevitably does) to get under his skin, and so here he remains: reporting, as Assistant Editor, on the cultural happenings which so infatuated him with the city. Catch him at sam@365bristol.com.